'Fragile' Lando Norris approach highlighted in key message to F1 rivals

F1 drivers should follow the example set by "fragile" but "resilient" Lando Norris in overcoming his 2025 demons, Anthony Davidson believes.

Despite winning the first grand prix of 2025, Norris endured tricky qualifying sessions in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, crashing in the latter, and claimed that he had "never driven a car before."

Norris has been particularly vocal about his battles with his mental health early in his career in grand prix racing, with 2009 champion Jenson Button even voicing at one point he hoped Norris would not be as self-critical about his performances in the future.

Ultimately, in the closing stages of the championship fight, Norris rallied whilst team-mate Oscar Piastri struggled, with Norris putting in excellent performances to win in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, including the Sprint in the latter, to wrest control of the title race.

In the Abu Dhabi finale, he held on to defeat the charging Max Verstappen by just two points to be crowned the 35th F1 world champion.

Former F1 driver and 2014 World Endurance Champion Anthony Davidson believes that despite the "fragile" appearance Norris can show, he is a "tough nut and resilient."

"When I won the championship in sports cars, I don't feel like it changed me as a person or as a driver, but it was nice to be able to hang your hat on something you've achieved," Davidson exclusively told RacingNews365. 

"You become world champion in something, and that's great, but Lando is naturally one of these characters who is quite happy to beat himself up publicly.

"But I think one thing he showed us [in the 2025 title fight] is how incredibly resilient he is, so he is a fascinating character.

"Lando can come across as being fragile, but that's just how he gets more out of himself, because his robustness through last season was a real lesson for everyone, and most importantly, a lesson to Oscar, who got to see his opponent, who he probably thought he had the measure of and upper hand over, and listen to his team-mate coming out with lots of negative self-criticism still come back to win the championship.

"There is a lesson in there for everyone, not to judge a book by its cover, because Lando is one tough nut."

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